Scotland Highlands – Castles, Clans and Nessie’s Watery Nest
We are at the rendezvous point in George Square. Our Timberbush Tour Bus pulls up at 10:15 a.m. with our smiling driver/guide Craig and a dozen other adventures already on board. Leaving Glasgow we head north-east to the mighty Wallace Monument overlooking a battle field at the base of the distant Stirling Castle. Standing on a knoll beside the monument is a fellow clad in a medieval mid-calf brown tunic with a wide belt that holds a knife sheath, plus another knife handle protruding from his long socks. He begins wielding a sword in one hand and an axe in the other as he regales us with a mix of legend and history. “Sir William Wallace, the famed Scottish hero must have been a large brute as he carried a 5ft 6in sword, at a time when the average height of a man was 5ft2in. He led the “Battle of Stirling Bridge” in 1297 and recaptured Stirling castle from the English in the Scottish Wars of Independence. Only a year later Edward I of England crushed Wallace and his followers and Wallace was charged with high treason and was hung, drawn and quartered – his parts hung from various cities as a warning to others.”
Pix by Rick – Our Highlands Photos –
The 1995 Academy Award winning film “Braveheart” is based on William Wallace, which Craig claims is an “inaccurate depiction”.
On the road again Craig announces that he has a most unusual site to show us – okay I’m into oddities! Over a rise we see cairns….thousands of cairns! An
eye-catching spectacle! The work of pixies? Or of humans? Or both? Why here? No one knows. Craig says the configuration keeps changing due to people stopping and adding a cairn, usually taking stones from others.
Stopping at Kilmahog for lunch, we are treated to a close-up of Highland cattle. Their long shaggy coat hangs down along their sides like a thick blanket, and from the top of their heads clumps hang over their eyes – protection from the vile storms that rage off the Atlantic during the winter. The ones we see 
are yellow, but in fields along the way we saw these long-horned burly animals in black, reddish-brown and silver-white. They shed this massive coat in the spring and it grows profusely as the weather cools again in the fall.
Journeying northward with a weather pattern of “cloud-sun-cloud-sun-cloud-sun” faster than we can say it, we arrive at Glencoe, the site of the 1692 massacre of the MacDonald Clan. In 1689 William and Mary of Holland were placed as rulers over Scotland by the English Parliament. Now there were groups that were okay with this and groups that were opposed and would not swear allegiance to King William. Those opposed were known as Jacobites, the MacDonald Clan being a major adversary who fought in gorilla style warfare against the royal army. Craig says, “In early February the regimented soldiers, led by Captain Robert Campbell, asked for food and shelter in the homes of the MacDonald Clan. The MacDonald’s were suspicious but this was overruled as no one is refused highland hospitality. In the frigid wee hours of February13th the guests massacred their hosts; 38 MacDonald men were killed, and another 40 women and children died of exposure after their homes were burned to the ground.” Craig maintains the most egregious part of the massacre was the abuse of highland hospitality. A sign today in a Glencoe pub still reads, “No Campbells”. A tidbit for 007 fans – Skyfall was filmed in Glencoe.
After a great night and a fine supper in the town of Fort William we move onward to The Great Glen, a geographical fault line characterized by a chain of
lochs, also known as the division between the highlands and lowlands. Near Loch Gary we visit Eilean Donan Castle. The first fortified castle on this spot was built in the mid-13th century; rebuilt least four times over the centuries. Partially destroyed in clan wars of the 1700’s, it lay in ruins for 200 years, until in 1911 Lt. Col. John MacRae-Gilstrap purchased the small tidal island where the castle sits, and began to restore it, which took 20 years. Clambering up and down the levels and in and out of rooms with gloomy rough stone walls fits my perceived vision of a Highland castle.
After a few miles drive we stop to climb up a winding trail sided by dense bush to a hilltop with a spectacular view of the countryside. On a clear day, which today is not, the peak Ben Nevis can be seen (the highest peak in the British Isles at 1344m). A statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie is on the shore of the loch below. In the opposite direction we are awarded a view of the stone aqueduct where scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. The latter needs no explanation, but who in the heck was this Bonnie Prince?
The Coles Notes version is: Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788) a.k.a. Bonnie Prince Charlie, was the grandson of Catholic King James II who was exiled to France after the British Parliament chose a Protestant king. Bonnie Prince arrived in the Highlands in 1745 to raise the Scottish clans in rebellion against this move; he therefore was for the Jacobites cause, which although his efforts failed, made the Bonnie Prince a Scottish hero.
Our group’s battle is with what Craig refers to as “the miggies”. Suddenly we are being bombarded with small black flies that nip at our skin – needless to say after a few photo shots our stay on the hill was short.
It was then onto St. Augustus, a thriving village at the southern tip of Loch Ness. The village is cut in half by a canal with five locks to lift and lower
vessels in the Caledonian Canal that join Loch Ness to other lochs. Walking to the point we see the watery home of Nessie fan out before us. Does a monster exist or is this a mere fable? A castle on the loch once kept prisoners in a dungeon below water level; they claimed to hear terrifyingly strange noises coming from the loch. Craig, born and raised in the highlands believes there is a gigantic creature that sometimes comes into Loch Ness. He says, “The depth of Loch Ness is tremendous, its bottom filled with caves and tunnels that are believed to go out to the sea. Filled with a massive amount of fish, a giant creature could not resist coming in for a feed and then go back out to sea – so Nessie is not in the loch all the time.”
BUT WAIT!!! I point and shout at Rick. Luckily he is camera ready! In a flash only a ripple is left in the water. Could it be??? Rick runs over and we squint at the camera image…Nessie or not Nessie….it’s for you to decide.
It is then onto Edinburgh, where we end our tour, feeling this venture into the highlands will be our highlight.